The Best Balayage for Dark Hair

Balayage has been in our lives for less than a decade, and it’s already a recurring summer trend. But the soft, sun-kissed painted light gradation, which gives a flawless lift to our festival hair and our influencer-inspired waves, comes in many styles and colors. The best kinds of balayage, especially on darker hair, end with strong dramatic edges or tips; the color on all the sections has to be saturated so none of the transition areas look patchy or forced. But it’s amazingly easy to fix a balayage with color melts or additional highlights. Here are some of the best summer balayage for brunettes.

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Here are the best balayages for dark hair

Bronde Balayage

One of the best balayage options if you're going from dark to light, the bronde balayage can give your hair a smooth lift. Olivia Palermo's color gradient looks natural and is also very easy to maintain, as it is not totally symmetrical.

Image: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for COVERGIRL
Dusty Rose Gold

Brunettes are increasingly leaning toward cooler pastel shades for summer. This is a flawless shade, and you can simply add in some blond edges.

Image: @corynneylon_hair
Violet + orange

This simple orange job on deep violet hair is stunningly original and fresh.

Image: @chloeanngaymer
Buttery Golden Ombre

Lucy Hale's dirty blond fades into the super light blond edges, and the transition is beautifully distinct. We love that her roots and crown are still brunette so that her highlights pop up too.

Image: Amanda Edwards/WireImage/Getty Images
Babylight Blond

A delightfully subtle addition to your standard brunette hair, this technique is breezy, polished and amazingly easy to touch up.

Image: @kristin_ess
Warm Bronze

A beautiful, sun-kissed shade of balayage, warm bronze gives hair amazing body and dimension, especially if it's a choppy cut.

Image: @corynneylon_hair
Copper Gold

Instead of plain ol' blond, go for a matte gold finish with shades like sandy or copper gold. You can always tone this shade down to something a little cooler.

Image: @hairbymandielynn
Iced Chocolate

If cold brew is your thing, this ever-so-chic iced chocolate balayage should be ideal for you. This look looks great on all lengths.

Image: @hungvanngo
Super Pastels

We love Irene Kim's adventurous muted rainbow balayage.

Image: @ireneisgood
Warm Espresso

Priyanka Chopra's take on balayage is perfect: Keep it subtle but dramatic.

Image: Steve Granitz/WireImage